The year was 1945 and the United States was in the middle of World War II. Omaha seemed relatively safe until one night in April when a Japanese bomb dropped in Dundee.

Lannie McNichols grew up in the area of 50th and Underwood streets where the balloon bomb dropped. She was a little girl when the bomb exploded just down the street in the middle of the night.

Advertisement

"It seems impossible. How in the world would you float something from Japan to Omaha, but they did," McNichols said.

Few people knew a bomb had gone off. Some saw a flash of light and others heard noises they thought were fireworks. But by the next morning, nearly everyone in the Dundee neighborhood knew something had happened.

"Kids are kids. Word spread and everyone knew about it. But we were told by our parents and our teachers that nobody was to talk about it," McNichols said.

Newspapers later said U.S. intelligence had heard about the balloons and warned authorities to keep any sightings secret.

"I think the Japanese were thinking that would be reported on -- where these balloons went, and then they could do further attacks," said Art Haney, who owns Baum Drug near where the bomb went off.

Keeping quiet was a way to help the United States win the war. Years after, the news came out.

"As far as the war goes, this wasn't a big event. But for Omaha history, it's kind of significant," Haney said.

The only remnant of the bomb is a plaque at 50th and Underwood streets. Nobody was hurt in Omaha, but three weeks later, a woman and her five children were killed in Oregon by one of the balloon bombs.